Entering the Conversation

1. In his 2008 book, Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America, Jay Parini writes, “Walden presents a challenge on every page, as Thoreau lays down the gauntlet, saying: Look at me. Then look at yourself. Are you living up to your potential? Are you learning from life what it really has to teach? Have you fronted the essentials in your own fashion?” Do you feel that challenge as you read Walden? Write an essay that examines the validity of Parini’s claim.

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   Entering the Conversation: - In his 2008 book, Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America, Jay Parini writes, “Walden presents a challenge on every page, as Thoreau lays down the gauntlet, saying: Look at me. Then look at yourself. Are you living up to your potential? Are you learning from life what it really has to teach? Have you fronted the essentials in your own fashion?” Do you feel that challenge as you read Walden? Write an essay that examines the validity of Parini’s claim.
2. In The Thoreau You Didn’t Know (2009), Robert Sullivan imagines Thoreau in modern America, and asks:

   Would he blog? Would he but fish only from sustainable industries when ordering seafood at a restaurant? Would he use Google or Yahoo! Or another web browser, since Google depends on hydroelectric power that affects salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest, and would he use a Blackberry in a restaurant or wait until he got outside or back to his hotel room? Most crucially, perhaps, what kind of car would Thoreau drive?

   Why do you suppose the legacy of Thoreau is so strong that a writer would even pose such questions? How would you answer two of them?

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   Entering the Conversation: - In The Thoreau You Didn’t Know (2009), Robert Sullivan imagines Thoreau in modern America, and asks:Would he blog? Would he but fish only from sustainable industries when ordering seafood at a restaurant? Would he use Google or Yahoo! Or another web browser, since Google depends on hydroelectric power that affects salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest, and would he use a Blackberry in a restaurant or wait until he got outside or back to his hotel room? Most crucially, perhaps, what kind of car would Thoreau drive?Why do you suppose the legacy of Thoreau is so strong that a writer would even pose such questions? How would you answer two of them?
3. “In one book…he surpasses everything we have had in America,” Robert Frost said of Thoreau. Based on your knowledge of American literature, defend or challenge Frost’s claim.

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   Entering the Conversation: - “In one book…he surpasses everything we have had in America,” Robert Frost said of Thoreau. Based on your knowledge of American literature, defend or challenge Frost’s claim.
4. An 1854 review of Walden in the Boston Daily Journal begins, “This is a remarkable book.” The review concludes, “But while many will be fascinated by its contents, few will be improved…the best that can be said of the work in its probable effects is, that while many will be charmed by the descriptive powers of the author, and will smile at his extravagant ideas, few will be influenced by his opinions. This is a negative virtue in a book which might do much mischief if the author could establish a bond of sympathy with the reader.” What do you suppose could be the “mischief” that the book might do? Write an essay that supports or refutes the assertions made in the review.

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   Entering the Conversation: - An 1854 review of Walden in the Boston Daily Journal begins, “This is a remarkable book.” The review concludes, “But while many will be fascinated by its contents, few will be improved…the best that can be said of the work in its probable effects is, that while many will be charmed by the descriptive powers of the author, and will smile at his extravagant ideas, few will be influenced by his opinions. This is a negative virtue in a book which might do much mischief if the author could establish a bond of sympathy with the reader.” What do you suppose could be the “mischief” that the book might do? Write an essay that supports or refutes the assertions made in the review.
5. “The Criminalization of Natural Play,” a chapter from Last Child in the Woods (2008) by contemporary environmentalist and educator Richard Louv, begins with an epigraph from Walden: “For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms.” Complaining about ever-increasing restrictions on play and access to nature for children, Louv writes, “They want to let their imaginations run; they want to see where a stream of water takes them.” Why would the example of Henry David Thoreau serve as a good one for children today?

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   Entering the Conversation: - “The Criminalization of Natural Play,” a chapter from Last Child in the Woods (2008) by contemporary environmentalist and educator Richard Louv, begins with an epigraph from Walden: “For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms.” Complaining about ever-increasing restrictions on play and access to nature for children, Louv writes, “They want to let their imaginations run; they want to see where a stream of water takes them.” Why would the example of Henry David Thoreau serve as a good one for children today?
6. Thoreau discusses “modern improvements” (note that he puts the phrase in quotation marks) and says, “As if the main object were to talk fast and not to talk sensibly. We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the old world some weeks nearer to the new: but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough” (par. 27). Later on, he disparages the telegraph and the post office. One might wonder whether Neil Postman had Thoreau in mind when writing in Amusing Ourselves to Death that “the contribution of the telegraph to public discourse was to dignify irrelevance and amplify impotence.” Write an essay in which you consider the implications of Thoreau’s and Postman’s statements as they relate to contemporary society. Use your own observation and experience as evidence to support your argument.

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   Entering the Conversation: - Thoreau discusses “modern improvements” (note that he puts the phrase in quotation marks) and says, “As if the main object were to talk fast and not to talk sensibly. We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the old world some weeks nearer to the new: but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough” (par. 27). Later on, he disparages the telegraph and the post office. One might wonder whether Neil Postman had Thoreau in mind when writing in Amusing Ourselves to Death that “the contribution of the telegraph to public discourse was to dignify irrelevance and amplify impotence.” Write an essay in which you consider the implications of Thoreau’s and Postman’s statements as they relate to contemporary society. Use your own observation and experience as evidence to support your argument.
7. As noted in the introduction to this Conversation, Thoreau’s legacy may be seen as fivefold: he is a model of self-reliance, of political integrity, of transcendentalist belief, of environmentalist concern, and of visionary thinking. Which of these do you see as the most important? Explain why.

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   Entering the Conversation: - As noted in the introduction to this Conversation, Thoreau’s legacy may be seen as fivefold: he is a model of self-reliance, of political integrity, of transcendentalist belief, of environmentalist concern, and of visionary thinking. Which of these do you see as the most important? Explain why.
8. In “Walden: Living Deliberately,” Bill McKibben writes, “In the 154 years since Walden, Thoreau has become ever more celebrated in theory and ever more ignored in practice” (par. 7). Write an essay in which you defend, challenge, or qualify McKibben’s assertion.

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   Entering the Conversation: - In “Walden: Living Deliberately,” Bill McKibben writes, “In the 154 years since Walden, Thoreau has become ever more celebrated in theory and ever more ignored in practice” (par. 7). Write an essay in which you defend, challenge, or qualify McKibben’s assertion.